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Beauty vlogger Remi Cruz is changing up her beauty routine for one important reason.

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Garnier Beauty Responsibly

One day, beauty guru and YouTube vlogger Remi Cruz was in her bathroom when it struck her: She had a lot of beauty products.

She started counting: one, two, three … 19, 20, 21. She used around 21 products every single morning — and most of these products were in plastic bottles and containers and had ended up in the trash when she was done using them.

After all, at that time, she didn't know if they could be recycled or not. It made her realize that her impact on the planet was a lot bigger than she'd thought.


All photos via Upworthy.

Remi Cruz is not alone in using a lot of beauty products that come in plastic containers. The average woman uses 12 different beauty products every single day, but only half of Americans are recycling the empty containers these products come in. As a result, beauty products are a huge part of the 79% of plastic waste that ends up in landfills.

"It completely blew my mind to think how much [plastic] I had wasted," Remi says.

She knew she had to do something to change her impact — that's why she got involved with the Garnier and Do Something.org "Rinse, Recycle, Repeat" campaign.

She found out that most of plastic containers could, in fact, be recycled. Even the plastic tops — the screw-on caps and pumps on many beauty products — can be recycled.

"I feel like not many people [know] that — and I definitely didn't," Remi says.

Once you recycle these items, you can do a lot of good. Recycling just one shampoo bottle can power a lightbulb for three hours. That means the 21 beauty products Remi uses can be repurposed to make the world a little brighter.

That meant that one simple addition to her bathroom — a recycling bin — could make all the difference. Only 14% of households have one in their bathroom. But for Remi, that small addition helped recycling become a regular part of her beauty routine. "I don't have to think twice about it," she says.

Once she gathered up all those recycled plastic bottles and containers, she would then send them off to be recycled into something new and awesome.

In fact, to make the recycling process even easier, some big beauty brands are offering to help when it comes to beauty product recycling. Garnier, for example, has partnered with TerraCycle to make the recycling process easier and efficient for anyone who has collected 10 or more pounds of recyclable products.

All you have to do is visit Garnier's website and print a shipping label to send all that plastic to TerraCycle. They cover the cost of shipping, whether it's a Garnier product or not, in an effort to "beauty responsibly."

Once your products arrive at TerraCycle, they are recycled into something the entire community can enjoy, like a picnic table (which takes about 5,700 shampoo bottles) or a park bench (which takes around 1,200).

Most people think of recycling plastics as a complicated process. But Remi says it starts by simply educating ourselves.

Remi began learning more about eco-friendly beauty through her work with Garnier.They’ve made sustainability an important part of their mission, including the reduction of plastic waste. In fact, since 2011, Garnier has helped recycle over 10,000,000 beauty product containers. And this year, they're working to get a million more recycled.

"Since working with Garnier last year, I've learned so much about how I can make such a difference and how one person can really make such a huge change," Remi says.

We only get one planet, which makes doing our part more important than ever. Thankfully, the little things can add up.

"It's really important to remember that everybody can make a change," Remi says.

A bathroom recycling bin might seem like a small place to start, but working together, Remi is confident that everyone — beauty guru or otherwise — can help keep plastics out of landfills, starting with their morning routine.

"Hopefully, at the end of this year, we can keep a million more beauty products out of the landfills," Remi adds. "I think that'd be amazing."

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Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

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It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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